Maple-Pear Cheesecake Tart with Ginger-Cookie Crust

I first threw together this crust because I happened to have a bag of Tate’s Gluten Free Ginger Zinger cookies in my pantry. They make a crunchy crust with a generous dose of gingery heat, which is delicious with pears. The cheesecake won’t be quite the same but will still be fine if you swap in 1 cup (128 g) gingersnap crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar, and ¼ cup (41 g) chopped candied ginger for the cookies and increase the butter to 6 tablespoons (84 g). Or you can omit the shell altogether, bake this in an 11-inch quiche dish, and serve it as a custard dessert. The juicy pears in the silken sour cream maple filling are delicious enough to eat crustless. Just be sure to start with soft, fragrant pears.

makes one 11-inch tart

no nuts

Ginger Cookie Crust

Maple Pear Filling

1. To make the crust: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with nonstick cooking spray and place on a half sheet pan.

2. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until ground into fine crumbs. Add the ginger cookies and pulse until the cookies are very finely ground and the ginger is very finely chopped. Scrape the bowl, add the butter, and pulse until all the crumbs are evenly moistened. Transfer to the tart pan and press evenly and firmly into the bottom and up the sides. To get a completely flat bottom, press in the mixture with the bottom of a dry measuring cup.

3. Bake until the crust is golden brown and set, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

4. Meanwhile, make the filling: Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a food processor and process until smooth and fluffy. Scrape the bowl. Add the eggs and pulse until smooth, scraping the bowl occasionally. Add the sour cream, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla and pulse until smooth, scraping the bowl occasionally.

5. Use a chef’s knife to cut one pear in half from top to bottom. Pull out the stem, dragging the central fibers out with it. Use a melon baller or teaspoon to scoop out the seeds with the core and the bottom stem. Place one half on a cutting board cut side down and cut crosswise into ¼-inch slices, keeping the pear shape intact. Slide the chef’s knife under the sliced pear, cup your other hand over the pear, and push the pear forward so that the slices fan slightly. Lift up the pear on the knife and slide it into the tart shell with the thin stem end in the center and the fat bottom end against the edge. Repeat with the remaining pears, alternating the positions of the pears’ ends in the shell and spacing them evenly.

6. Carefully pour the cream cheese mixture into the shell, starting in the center and letting it run out toward the edges.

7. Bake the tart until the filling is golden, puffed, and set, 40 to 45 minutes. 

8. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Unmold the tart to serve.

Make Ahead

The tart is best the day it’s made, within a few hours of cooling completely, but it will keep in the refrigerator overnight.